If you want to try a new LO version out before installing it, here's a nice tutorial. You might want to make a backup of your LO configuration files first, though (~/.config/libreoffice).
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GlutanimateFeb 9 '13 at 8:27

4

From the answers below, it seems there are 4 options: 1) uninstall your existing LO and then download and manually install the latest LO; 2) use the "rather unstable" pre-releases ppa; 3) use the new "not-so-stable" libreoffice-4-0 ppa; and 4) wait for a more stable ubuntu package to be ready in the main libreoffice ppa. Therefore, it might be useful to hear from the experiences in categories 1, 2 and 3.
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SadiMar 8 '13 at 8:46

@Sadi I used my method to install it and it worked just fine. I've had no issues what so ever, though I must admit I don't tinker with it, just use the default setup for the most part.
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Seth♦Mar 8 '13 at 23:43

Obviously, if you don't already have libreoffice installed, you will also need to run

sudo apt-get install libreoffice

It should be noted that this ppa will only produce updates for the 4.4 series, while the main libreoffice ppa will provide updates beyond the 4.4 series, although that ppa is largely for testing and development builds.

(The original 4.0 series ppa is here at launchpad, if anyone has any special reason to use that series.)

Using this new PPA, upgrade from 3.6 to 4.0 went very well (Ubuntu 12.10 64-bit) and the applications seems very stable with noticeable performance improvements. I only had to re-install several extensions, rename several macros added to the Format menu and rename a custom menu back to Macros. Upvoted!
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SadiMar 8 '13 at 9:53

@Sadi Yes, the upgrade went smoothly for me as well; this ppa from the libreoffice team does provide stable backports with several Ubuntu tweaks included.
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user76204Mar 8 '13 at 17:47

Adding deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/libreoffice-4-0/ubuntu precise main and deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/libreoffice/libreoffice-4-0/ubuntu precise main to my software sources brought up the "Not all updates can be installed" message. Just in case that's of interest to anyone...
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nutty about nattyMar 24 '13 at 19:30

1

@nuttyaboutnatty I see now. I usually do it all using the command-line, but you can sometimes get errors. Usually ppa-purge is a good way to correct them. I answered a question the other day relating to Libreoffice 4 installation issues.
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user76204Mar 24 '13 at 19:41

2

It is worth mentioning that if you don't have the previous version of LibreOffice installed on your system, additionally to the commands mentioned by Mik, you also need to run the following one: sudo apt-get install libreoffice
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KrigeApr 17 '13 at 10:30

This method is not recommended!

While using this method will still work fine, and you will end up with the latest version of LibreOffice, LibreOffice 4.2 is now available in the Trusty repositories and the recommended method of installation is using the software center or apt.

If you want to live on the wild side, or you want the absolute latest and greatest version of LibreOffice use this answer.

If you find something out of date, please leave a comment below or go ahead and fix it yourself :)

How can I migrate my settings, in particular my custom templates, from libreoffice 3 to libreoffice 4? Spontaneously, I can think of some "manual" ways of doing it; what are the options, what's the best/safest/most convenient way to do so?
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nutty about nattyJun 20 '13 at 7:48

4

@nuttyaboutnatty That should be a new question ;)
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Seth♦Jun 20 '13 at 15:16

How about just rewriting the whole answer instead?
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BraiamFeb 10 '14 at 1:44

@Braiam I guess I could add the other answer onto this one, but this one is still as valid as any of the others.
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Seth♦Feb 10 '14 at 1:45

A very good answer but makes no mention of installing the language and help packs for the users locality.
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Steve BarnesJan 31 at 8:04

By using the official ppa you'll always have the latest LibreOffice stable release, regardless your Ubuntu version (at least until it become obsolete, so 14.04, 12.04 and the upcoming 15.04 are fully supported).